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Monday, May 14, 2012

The Foreign Bride (1964) Iran

This poster is part of a lot I obtained from an eBay seller years ago. It is safe to say this poster is scarce, because that is true of most Iranian film posters. In any case it was a chance acquisition, one of a very small number of film posters I have from Iran. It was made to advertise a film released during the time of the late shah of Iran. The film itself was not one of the ones that are shown to people who study Persian in American universities, I assume because it was not perceived to have any social significance. For a collector it could be part of a topical collection of posters for films about strange brides.

Socially significant or not, according to Iranian film encyclopedist Jamal Omid the film found some commercial and critical success. In 1964 Iranian films that showed signs of religious piety were not nearly as common as they are now, and this one was praised by a Muslim cleric because of a scene in which its protagonist finds a quiet corner to pray. When published this praise helped bring audiences to theaters. It also received a letter of commendation from the Ministry of the Interior Exhibition Commission, the third Delfan Bronze Medal in the international division at the First Ministry of Education International Film Festival as well as the Second Golden Lion Medal. The film was shown at the First Tashkent Festival and was popular with audiences in the Soviet Union. It was also popular with the public in Tehran.

The film tells the story of taxi driver Hoseyn who is unable to marry his fiance because of financial problems and is working overtime. He gets involved with a foreign girl named Maria, who soon decides she wants to marry him. After a few incidents the taxi driver decides he prefers to marry his fiance.